Château de Fonbel, St Emilion Grand Cru, 2019
Alain Vauthier's range of St Emilions are the best we can remember tasting. This 16 hectare estate on the St Emilion plain has a sandy, gravelly terroir, but despite the humble situation, Fonbel produces some sensational wines. A blend of 66% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot and 7% Carmenere, the 2010 Fonbel possesses wonderful energy, a refined bouquet of purple fruit, bitter sweet cherries and spice. The palate is pure and sensual with long flavours of forest fruits and mûre sauvage. Likely to be a great value buy.
critic reviews
The 2019 de Fonbel is made from 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Carmenere. Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, it delivers bright, breezy notes of red cherry preserves and black raspberry followed by hints of lavender, star anise, and wild sage. The medium-bodied palate has a racy backbone and grainy tannins with bright, crunchy fruit and great length.
The 2019 Château de Fonbel lacks a little delineation on the nose, a mixture of earthy red and black fruit, dry tobacco and graphite. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins. One of the more pliant Saint-Émilion wines this vintage with a smooth, seductive finish that doesn't quite deliver the complexity expected at the moment. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.
From a 16-hectare vineyard on sandy soils on the plain, the 2019 Fonbel is a Merlot-dominant blend complemented by some Cabernet Sauvignon and, since 2004, Carmenere. Offering up aromas of blueberries, raspberries and loamy soil, it's a medium to full-bodied, ample and succulent wine with delicate tannins and a supple, giving profile. Fully 70% is matured in tank to keep the fruit in the foreground.